Kay Ivey Calls Alabama Special Session After Supreme Court Strikes Louisiana Voting District

A Supreme Court decision striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana has intensified a national redistricting battle by giving Republican officials new grounds to redraw voting districts, multiple outlets reported.

“WASHINGTON -- A Supreme Court decision striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana has amplified an already intense national redistricting battle by providing Republican officials in several states new grounds to redraw voting districts”

ABC7 New York

Spectrum News said the ruling amplified the fight by providing “new grounds to redraw voting districts,” and it described how Republican Gov. Kay Ivey in Alabama announced a special legislative session to begin Monday in hopes the Supreme Court allows Alabama to change its U.S. House map ahead of the November midterm elections.

ABC7 New York

NBC News similarly reported that Alabama and Tennessee governors called for special sessions after the “major Supreme Court decision on race and redistricting this week,” with Alabama’s GOP-controlled Legislature preparing for special primary elections if the court allows a blocked map.

ABC7 New York framed the decision as striking down a majority Black district in Louisiana and said it “amplified an already intense national redistricting battle” while Louisiana suspended its May 16 congressional primary.

The Spectrum News account also said President Donald Trump is pressuring other states such as Tennessee to redistrict ahead of the midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the closely divided House.

In Georgia, Spectrum News quoted Republican Gov. Brian Kemp saying it’s too late to change congressional districts for this year’s elections because “voting already is underway,” but Kemp said the rationale “requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle.”

In Alabama, the redistricting push accelerated after the Supreme Court ruling, with Spectrum News and NBC News describing parallel steps by Gov. Kay Ivey and state officials.

Spectrum News said Ivey announced Friday that she is calling a special legislative session to begin Monday, aiming to secure Supreme Court permission to change Alabama’s U.S. House map ahead of the November midterm elections.

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NBC News reported that Ivey said the GOP-controlled Legislature should be prepared to set special primary elections if the Supreme Court allows Alabama to use a congressional map that had been blocked in court.

NBC News added that Alabama’s primaries on May 19 are currently scheduled to take place using a court-ordered map that includes two districts with heavy Black populations, and it said the Supreme Court’s decision signaled Alabama might now be allowed to use a previous map with just one of those districts in place, likely resulting in an additional seat for Republicans.

NBC News also quoted Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filing an emergency motion seeking a quick answer from the nation’s top court on that map, and it included Ivey’s statement: “By calling the Legislature into a special session, I am ensuring Alabama is prepared should the courts act quickly enough to allow Alabama’s previously drawn congressional and state Senate maps to be used during this election cycle.”

In Tennessee, NBC News said Gov. Bill Lee called for a special legislative session to “review” the state’s congressional map, which has a single Democratic-controlled district based in Memphis, and it quoted Lee’s office saying “any change to Tennessee’s congressional map must be enacted as soon as possible” to comply with the state’s timeline ahead of the Aug. 6 primary.

Louisiana’s response to the Supreme Court ruling centered on postponing its congressional primary, while lawsuits and court orders sought to keep the original schedule.

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ABC7 New York said Louisiana “has suspended its May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts,” and it described how voting rights groups sued on Friday “to have Louisiana's House primaries continue on schedule given that absentee voting is already underway.”

Spectrum News similarly said Louisiana “already has suspended its May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts,” while noting that the suspension was “being challenged in court.”

ABC7 New York added more detail, reporting that early in-person voting was to begin Saturday for Louisiana’s primaries, but Republican Gov. Jeff Landry “moved quickly Thursday to postpone the congressional primary while allowing elections for other offices to go forward.”

ABC7 New York also described a federal lawsuit filed later Thursday by “a Democratic congressional candidate and voter,” asking a court to block Landry’s order and allow the House primary to occur as originally scheduled, and it said the lawsuit asserted “tens of thousands of absentee ballots already have been mailed to people and a substantial number have been filled out and returned.”

The same ABC7 New York report said a “three-judge federal court panel” that heard the case appealed to the Supreme Court issued an order Thursday “suspending Louisiana's congressional primary.”

Beyond Alabama and Tennessee, the Supreme Court decision triggered different timing and strategy choices across states, with Spectrum News and ABC7 New York describing how Georgia and Florida handled the moment.

Spectrum News said Georgia’s current House map has nine Republicans and five Democrats, and it reported that early in-person voting began April 27 and continues for the next few weeks ahead of Georgia’s primary elections on May 19.

Spectrum News

Spectrum News quoted Republican Gov. Brian Kemp saying it’s too late for Georgia officials to try to change congressional districts for this year’s elections because “voting already is underway,” but Kemp added that the rationale “requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle.”

ABC7 New York described Florida’s immediate action, saying “Hours after the Supreme Court's decision, Florida's Republican-led Legislature approved new U.S. House districts that could help the GOP win up to four additional seats in November.”

ABC7 New York also reported that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special legislative session without knowing when the Supreme Court would issue its opinion in the Louisiana case, and it said DeSantis expressed confidence the court would rule as it did.

In the same ABC7 New York report, Tennessee’s political pressure was linked to the White House, with Trump posting on social media Thursday that he had spoken with Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who he said would work hard for a new map that could help Republicans gain an additional seat.

The sources portray the Supreme Court ruling as setting up a longer, mid-decade redistricting fight, with immediate consequences for primaries and a broader expectation of additional map changes.

“A Supreme Court decision striking down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana has amplified an already intense national redistricting battle by providing Republican officials in several states new grounds to redraw voting districts”

Spectrum News

NBC News said the decision is expected to trigger an “avalanche of new maps next year,” extending the current mid-decade redistricting battle, and it tied the Louisiana delay to the expectation of House map redraws while other races move forward.

ABC7 New York

ABC7 New York similarly said the Supreme Court’s decision “significantly weakened a provision in the federal Voting Rights Act,” and it reported that lawmakers, commissions or courts have adopted new House districts in eight states, with that total “could grow” following the ruling.

Spectrum News described how President Donald Trump is pressuring other states such as Tennessee to redistrict ahead of the November midterm elections, and it said the House map in Georgia has nine Republicans and five Democrats while early in-person voting began April 27 and continues ahead of May 19 primaries.

In Alabama, NBC News said the state is under a timeline tied to May 19 primaries and the possibility of using a previously drawn map if the Supreme Court acts quickly enough, while Spectrum News said Ivey is seeking Supreme Court permission to change the U.S. House map ahead of the November midterm elections.

In Tennessee, NBC News said Lee’s office stated that “any change to Tennessee’s congressional map must be enacted as soon as possible” to comply with the state’s timeline ahead of the Aug. 6 primary, and ABC7 New York said the primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6.